Quick-release valve air gun

ABSTRACT

An air gun with a quick-release pneumatically operated gas valve that includes a piston positioned in a cylinder with one closed end so that the piston may seat against a gas outlet to close the gas valve. A control reservoir filled with gas to a control pressure is formed in the cylinder between the piston and the closed end of the cylinder so that the control pressure acts against the piston to close the gas valve. Opening a trigger valve allows the gas in the control reservoir to escape through an exhaust port, resulting in the gas valve being rapidly opened.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority from, and incorporates byreference in their entireties, U.S. provisional patent application61/821,672 filed May 9, 2013 and U.S. provisional patent application61/830,021 filed May 31, 2013.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

Various embodiments of the present invention relate to air guns forfiring projectiles. More specifically, the various embodiments relate toembodiments of a quick-release valve air gun.

2. Description of Related Art

Air guns use compressed air to accelerate a projectile down the barreland out the muzzle. Some air guns hold enough compressed gas in thecompression chamber to fire multiple shots. Other air guns must berecharged with compressed gas after each shot. Some air guns arerecharged from another source of compressed gas such as a piston drivengas compressor or a storage tank. Other air guns recharge by forcing afiring piston of the gun down a compression tube to create sufficientpressure in the gun's compression chamber. All air guns have some sortof valve or other mechanism to inject air into the barrel behind theprojectile.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present inventors recognized that the ability of the air gun's valveto rapidly open and fill the barrel with pressurized air directlyaffects the shooting characteristics of the air gun. Various embodimentsof the quick-release valve air gun disclosed herein feature a novelquick-release valve designed as an integral part of the air gun. Variousembodiments disclosed herein feature a quick-release valve air gun witha barrel and a high speed gas valve with a primary gas reservoir. Thegas reservoir is configured with a primary gas outlet in gaseouscommunication with the breech end of the barrel and an inner edgedisposed within the primary gas reservoir body, or otherwise in gaseouscommunication with the primary gas reservoir. A piston with a chamferedouter end is configured to mate up with a portion of the primary gasoutlet as the gas valve is closed. The piston slides back and forthwithin a piston receptacle mounted within the primary gas reservoirbody. The inner end of the piston and inner walls of the pistonreceptacle form a control reservoir. The quick-release valve air gun hasa trigger mechanism which, upon being triggered, releases controlchamber gas from the control reservoir, reducing pressure in the controlreservoir and causing the piston to slide away from the inner edge ofthe primary gas outlet, thus opening the gas valve and firing theprojectile from the quick-release valve air gun.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute partof the specification, illustrate aspects of the various embodiments.Together with the general description, the drawings serve to explain theprinciples of the various embodiments. In the drawings:

FIGS. 1A and 1B depict two implementations of the quick-release valveair gun according the various embodiments disclosed herein.

FIGS. 1C and 1D depict a side view and an oblique view of a longbarreled, high pressure embodiment of the quick-release valve air gun.

FIG. 2A depicts examples of projectiles suitable for use in variousembodiments of the quick-release valve air gun.

FIG. 2B depicts a camera configured to be launched from thequick-release valve air gun;

FIGS. 3A-G depict an embodiment of the quick-release valve air gunconfigured to shoot netting, ropes or bolas.

FIGS. 4A-B depict loading mechanisms according to two embodiment of thequick-release valve air gun.

FIG. 5A depicts an embodiment of a gravity feed hopper load mechanism.

FIG. 5B depicts an embodiment of a spring loaded tube magazine andloading mechanism.

FIG. 6A depicts an embodiment of the quick-release valve air gun havingan airtight magazine for loading projectiles.

FIG. 6B depicts an embodiment of the quick-release valve air gun with aprimary gas supply tank that extends forward around the barrel.

FIGS. 7A-B depict the gas valve portion of various embodiments of thequick-release valve air gun.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present inventors recognized that improved firing characteristicscould be realized by more rapidly releasing pressurized gas into thechamber behind the projectile. The present inventors also recognizedthat firing performance gains could be realized by increasing the rateof the stream of gas entering the breech end of a barrel behind theprojectile, pushing it down the barrel and out the muzzle. The noveldesign of the quick-release gas valve 117, which is in gaseouscommunication with the barrel, aids in enhancing the effective forcedriving the projectile down the barrel and the projectile muzzlevelocity. As a result, the novel designs of the quick-release valve airgun disclosed herein can be used to increase the projectile muzzlevelocity or shoot heavier projectiles for various applications. Inaddition, the performance gains realized through use of the novel designof air valve 117 and the barrel design allow some embodiments of the gunto optionally use a smaller, more easily portable gas storage tank. Fora given projectile embodiments of the quick-release valve air gundisclosed herein are able to achieve the same muzzle velocity with lesspressure in the high pressure supply tank as compared to conventionalair guns. For example, conventional air guns often require 150 to 200psi to launch a given projectile with a suitable muzzle velocity. Thenovel design of air valve 117 enables the same projectile to be launchedat the same muzzle velocity with much lower pressures in the primarysupply tank 107, for example, with pressures well under 100 psi. Someembodiments utilize primary supply tank 107 pressures of 60 psi or less,while other embodiments use primary supply tank 107 pressures of 50 psior less, or 40 psi or less, to launch the given projectile with the samesuitable muzzle velocity.

In this detailed description, various specific details are set forth byway of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding of therelevant teachings. However, it is apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art that various aspects of the present teachings may bepracticed without all such details. In some instances, well knownmethods, procedures and components have been described at a relativelyhigh-level, without excessive detail, in order to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring novel aspects of the various embodiments. A number ofdescriptive terms and phrases are used in describing the variousembodiments of this disclosure. These descriptive terms and phrases areused to convey a generally agreed upon meaning to those or ordinaryskill in the art unless a different definition is given in thisspecification. Some of the descriptive terms and phrases used in thisdetailed description are presented in the following paragraphs forclarity.

FIGS. 1A and 1B depict two implementations of the quick-release valveair gun according the various embodiments disclosed herein. Variousembodiments of the quick-release valve air gun features a barrel 101with a substantially round muzzle 103. Other embodiments feature barrelcross-sections of different shapes to accommodate various projectiles,including for example, a square barrel, a rectangular barrel, anoctagonal barrel, a triangular barrel, an oval barrel (or curvednon-round shaped barrel), or other like barrel interior cross-sectionsas would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. Forexample, an embodiment used to launch an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)uses a square barrel because the UAV is folded up when being launchedand then unfolds upon launch. Some barrel cross-sections arenon-symmetrical about both axes, or otherwise custom shaped for aparticular application. For example, a grenade launcher embodiment has asubstantially round cross-section with a groove running the length ofthe barrel. The groove accommodates the handle of the grenade when it iscompressed before pulling the pin out. In this way the grenade handleremains compressed while in the barrel. In at least some grenadelauncher embodiments, as well as embodiments designed to shoot varioustypes of explosives, the quick-release valve air gun is configured withan arming mechanism on the barrel that arms the grenade or otherexplosive device as it is fire. In this way the grenade or otherexplosive device is not armed while sitting in the chamber waiting to befired to avoid an accidental detonation. But as the grenade or otherexplosive device leaves the barrel (or as it travels through the barrel)the arming mechanism arms the grenade/explosive device. The armingmechanism may include a mechanical sensor, a magnetic sensor, a lightsensor, a mechanical switch, an electrical switch, a pin that isremoved, or other means to arm the grenade/explosive device as would beknown by one of ordinary skill in the art.

The projectile is propelled through the barrel 101 and out the muzzle103 by release of the pressurized gas through the novel quick releasegas valve 105 at the breech end of barrel 101, opposite the muzzle end103. The pressurized gas; typically air under pressure, is stored in asupply tank 107, sometimes called a primary gas supply tank. The primarygas supply tank can be implemented in various sizes. A typical sizedprimary gas supply tank is up to six inches in inside diameter (measuredlaterally, that is, perpendicular to the centerline of the barrel).Other embodiments are up to two inches diameter, or up to four inches indiameter. Firing the quick-release valve air gun caused the gas pressureto reduce in the primary supply tank 107. To fire the air gun again itneeds to be charged up with pressurized gas. Some embodiments simplyhave a coupling such as a quick disconnect coupling used to connect anair compressor, a bicycle pump (or other hand pump), or other supply ofpressurized gas. Other embodiments feature a second tank, often called aresupply tank 113, to recharge the primary supply tank 107. Typically,gas in the resupply tank 113 is kept under higher pressure than the gasof the primary supply tank 107. A regulator 115 or auto-refill valve maybe provided between the primary supply tank 107 and the supply tank 107to regulate the pressure entering into the supply tank 107. Theefficiency and speed of the quick-release gas valve 117 enables the useof a smaller primary supply tank 107, including primary supply tank 107volumes of from 25 cubic inches to 500 cubic inches and any volume orrange of volumes between 25 to 500 cubic inches.

A trigger mechanism 109 may be used to manipulate the high speed gasvalve 105, thus releasing the pressurized gas through the valve into thebarrel 101 behind the projectile. This is done by controlling thetrigger mechanism 109 to switch a release valve (sometimes called atrigger valve) from the closed state to an open state, allowing air (orother gas) to escape from a control reservoir which holds a pistonclosed within the quick-release valve, thus opening the quick-releasevalve to shoot a projectile from the muzzle end of the quick-releasevalve air gun barrel. In some embodiments the trigger mechanism 109 maybe configured as part of the release valve itself, for example, as aplunger, lever, push-rod, switch, or other like type of activatingmechanism, as per FIG. 1A. In other embodiments the trigger mechanism109 may be separate from the release valve, for example, an electricalor mechanical switch apart from the release valve, but configured in amanner to controllably activate the release valve, e.g., via electricalwires, a pneumatic tube, or mechanical linkage, as per FIG. 1B. In FIG.1B the trigger mechanism 109 is connected to the high speed gas valve105 by a pneumatic tube 111 which is in gaseous communication with thecontrol reservoir. Manipulating (or activating) the trigger mechanism109 reduces the control pressure, causing the piston to slide backwards(e.g., in a direction away from the muzzle end of the air gun) and openthe quick-release valve to an open state. This releases pressurized gasbehind the projectile, firing the projectile down the barrel and out themuzzle.

The quick-release valve air gun may be configured in a number ofimplementations with various specialized features for performingdifferent functions. For example, some embodiments of the quick-releasevalve air gun are directed to firing lethal (or potentially lethal)projectiles for hunting or for self-defense. Some embodiments areconfigured to fire non-lethal projectiles such as netting or rope, teargas canisters, a bolo, flexible non-lethal projectiles, or othernon-lethal projectiles for crowd control or self-defense purposes. Thecrowd control projectile embodiments include dyes for marking certainpeople (e.g., marking people for later arrest), drugs or mildly toxicsubstances to anesthetize or otherwise incapacitate a person or persons,or to disperse a crowd. Other embodiments are configured to fire chaffto produce electromagnetic interference and false targets as acountermeasure for electronic detection (e.g., radar). Some embodimentsare configured to fire or launch relatively heavy projectiles to breachdoors, windows, walls or other structural components so as to affordaccess by law enforcement officials or military personnel. Someembodiments are configured to launch items to be conveyed such astee-shirts, hot dogs, prizes, literature or flyers, or othermarketing-related items. Other embodiments are configured to launchprojectiles such as fireworks, or explosives either for militarypurposes or peacetime uses such as explosive devices intended to createsnow avalanches so as to eliminate potentially dangerous conditions,e.g., near ski slopes or mountainous territory near roads, structures orpeople. Some embodiments are configured to spread fertilizer, animalfeed, seed grains, pesticides, or other agricultural products. Yet otherembodiments are configured to launch a robot, a drone, or other type ofremote control vehicle that may be equipped with one or more of cameras,weapons, firefighting materials, or construction materials.

Different embodiments of the quick-release valve air gun feature varyingbarrel diameters and lengths, depending upon the desired firingcharacteristics. The barrel can be as short as one inch (just longenough to hold a projectile) or as long as eight feet. Barrel diametersrange from approximately ⅛ inch to as much as 16 inches, depending uponthe application. The embodiment depicted in FIG. 1C has a barrel lengthof approximately 22 inches. Generally, the longer barrel length aids inmore accurately shooting a projectile longer distances. Some embodimentsaccurately shoot a projectile two hundred yards or more, while otherlong barreled embodiments are capable of shooting at targets as far as400 yards or more away. Other embodiments have been fabricated withbarrel lengths of only one inch. Such short barrel lengths are morereadily portable since the gun is smaller, but tend to be much lessaccurate. By contrast, other embodiments of the quick-release valve airgun have barrel lengths of eight feet or more.

FIGS. 2A-2B depict some examples of projectiles suitable for use invarious embodiments of the quick-release valve air gun. The projectilesare embodied in various shapes, weights and sizes, depending upon theintended use and function. For example, a relatively dense material suchas a lead or steel ball 201 is suitable as a lethal projectile for useagainst human or animal targets. The relatively dense material may beshaped as a cylinder or bullet shape 203. Typical weighs for projectilesused for human or animal targets include weights in the range from 0.3ounces to 1 pound. Larger projectiles of heavy materials are used toinflict structural damage, e.g., punching holes in walls or breachingdoors or windows, or breaking door lock mechanisms or hinges. Typicalweighs for such use include any weight within the range of from 1 poundto 25 pounds. Relatively large sized, lighter weight projectiles may beused as non-lethal weapons. It should be noted that the gas valve ofconventional air guns—for example, paint guns—cannot simply be scaled upin size to shoot a larger, heavier projectile. An attempt to scale suchconventional valves up in size to launch heavier projectiles tends to bedeficient in two respects. First, an attempt to scale up the gas valveof a conventional air gun tends to be leaky due to the higher pressuresrequired to launch a heavy projectile. Secondly, such scaled up valvesdo not open rapid enough to eject a heavy projectile (e.g., greater thanthree pounds) with enough force to attain a suitable firing trajectory,or breach a door or wall. By contrast, the quick release gas valve ofvarious embodiments of the quick-release valve air gun can beimplemented for applications with smaller projectiles (e.g., paintballguns) or larger projectiles (e.g., tactical door breaching projectiles,small robots, cameras, or other relatively heavy projectiles).

Various embodiments of the quick-release valve air gun are tailored tolaunch myriad different types of projectiles of vastly different sizes,shapes and weights. Some of the typical projectile shapes includespherical 201, pill shaped or cylinder shaped 203, oblong shaped 207,and shot shaped 209 (multiple smaller projectiles). In someimplementations the shot 209 consists of shot all having the samediameter, size or shape. In other implementations the shot 209 consistsof shot all having varying diameters, sizes or shapes. Shot 209 includesspherical shaped shot in some implementations, while in otherimplementations the shot 209 includes jagged or otherwise asymmetricalshapes or a mixture of spherical and asymmetrical shapes. Someembodiments are configured to shoot nails, spikes, rivets or otherconstruction fasteners. Other projectiles include various types of ballssuch as a golf ball, a football, a tennis ball, a baseball, a KongBall®, a camera 219, an aerosol canister 205, a paintball, and aSuperball®. The canister 205 may be equipped with a nozzle 229configured to spray the contents of the canister 205 either upon impact,at a predefined time after launch, or at a predefined point. In someembodiments, the nozzle 229 may be controllable via a communication linkso the canister can be launched and then activated at a later time(after reaching the target) either under control of the user or by usinga timing mechanism. Some embodiments of the quick-release valve air gunare configured to shoot nets 213, ropes 215, bolas 217, and chains 227,or other such projectiles for disabling a person, animal, vehicle, boator other tactical target. In some implementations the projectiles aresurrounded by a detachable sabot 211 as it travels down the barrel.Typically, the sabot 211 falls away from the projectile shortly after itexits the muzzle of the quick-release valve air gun.

Some embodiments of the quick-release valve air gun are configured tolaunch a camera 219, typically for surveillance purposes. FIG. 2Bdepicts a camera suitable for launching. The camera 219 may be either astill camera that takes photographs and/or a video camera that capturesvideo of the scene below for surveillance purposes. The images, eitherstill or video (or both), may be communicated to the user via acommunications link between camera 219 and a control unit.Alternatively, the images may be communicated to a command center otherthan the user who launches the camera, e.g., via a satellite link or bydirect communications link. Various embodiments of the camera 219include a parachute 225 configured to either deploy at the maximumheight of the trajectory, another predefined height or location above atarget, or under control of the user or command center. In variousembodiments the camera 219 is launched, a parachute 225 opens at theapex of its trajectory or other desired position, and the camera 219takes photographs or video as it floats back to the ground. Typically,the camera 219 includes a telemetry link that adjusts the parachute 225,tail assembly 221 and/or the guidance fins 223. Embodiments of thecamera 219 typically have a guidance system including a tail assembly221 and/or one or more fins 223 designed to unfold while the camera 219is in flight. The tail assembly 221 and/or fins 223 may be unfolded uponfiring to aid in guiding the camera 219 to a vantage point suitable forobservation. Alternatively, the camera 219 may be fired towards thedesired vantage point with the tail assembly 221 and/or fins 223remaining undeployed—that is, in a folded up state. Once the camera 219reaches the desired vantage point and the parachute 225 (if any) isdeployed, the tail assembly 221 and/or fins 223 may also be deployed tosteer the camera 219 as it floats back towards the ground. The telemetrylink can be used to focus the lens—or lenses, if more than one—and pointthe camera(s) towards a target being observed.

FIGS. 3A-G depicts an embodiment of the quick-release valve air gun 300configured to shoot netting, ropes or bolas. To shoot netting, ropes orbolas from this embodiment of the air gun a user activates the triggermechanism 309. This acts to open a release valve of the air gun,reducing the control pressure which keeps the quick-release valveclosed. The reduction in control pressure causes the piston within thequick-release valve to open, releasing pressurized gas behind theprojectile. The pressurized gas rapidly fires the netting, ropes orbolas from this embodiment of the quick-release valve air gun.

For example, various embodiments 300 of the quick-release valve air guncan shoot netting 213, rope 215 or bolas 217, and/or chains 227 as shownin FIG. 2A. Some embodiments of the quick-release valve air gun areconfigured with a barrel that is irremovably affixed to the stock, valveand trigger assembly and not intended to be removed with each shot. Theembodiments depicted in FIGS. 3A and 3B are configured with aquick-release mechanism 301 that allows the netting head 303 (or head305) to be quickly removed and replaced with a new head assembly.Through experimentation the present inventors found that it is moreefficient to keep several netting heads 303 (or 305)for each air gunwith a quick-release valve. Each of the heads can be loaded in advancewith a net 213 prior to shooting the air gun with a quick-release valve.Once a net 213 is shot, the netting head 303 can be quickly removed fromthe quick-release valve air gun 300 and replaced with another nettinghead 303 that has been loaded with a net 213. The inventors have foundthat this arrangement allows the quick-release valve air gun 300 to bereloaded for shooting a new net within five seconds or less.Conventional air guns take two or three minutes to reload with a newnet. The rope 215 and bolas 217 and chains 227 shown in FIG. 2A can beloaded in advance into a number of netting heads 303 in a manner similarto the netting 213. The head 303 is called a “netting” head herein forthe sake of simplicity, even though netting head 303 can readily be usedto shoot ropes 215 and bolas 217 and chains 227.

The novel netting head 303 features two or more tubes 321 that aresplayed apart, aimed at an angle (or angles) outward from the centerlineof the quick-release valve air gun 300. The tubes 321, for the purposesof this application, are considered barrels of this embodiment of thequick-release valve air gun. As such, the primary gas supply tank is ingaseous communication with the multiple tubes 321 via the quick releasegas valve of the air gun. The tubes 321 are configured to receive netweights—that is, weights 215 attached to various points on the peripheryof the net 213. The embodiment depicted in FIGS. 3D-G has four tubes321. Other embodiments have different numbers of tubes. The four netweights 215 are positioned on (or placed within) the tubes 321. In someembodiments each of the net weights 215 has a small hole that fits overone of the tubes 321. In other embodiments the tube weights 215 areshaped (or have a portion shaped) like a bottle stopper or a cylinderthat inserts into each of the tubes 321. In various embodiments, the actof firing the quick-release valve air gun blows the net weights 215 offof the tubes 321 (or out of the tubes), thus carrying the net 213 withthe net weights 215 as they shoot towards the target. In someembodiments the net weights 215 are implemented as rubber balls with apredefined portion designed to fit within (or over) the tubes 321. Inother embodiments the net weights 215 are covered with soft foammaterial to avoid injuring the target. In some embodiments the netweights 215 each weigh the same amount, while in other embodiments thenet weights 215 may vary. For example, the net weights 215 place on (orin) the tubes 321 towards the top of the quick-release valve air gun maybe heavier than the bottom-most net weights 215. The top-most netweights 215 in some implementations outweigh the bottom-most net weights215 by at least 20% up to as much as 400% (that is, 5×) or by anypercent within this range. Although the embodiments depicted in FIGS.3D-3G have four tubes, various other embodiments have as few as twotubes or as many as 20 tubes. The tubes 321 have a path to the valve ofthe quick-release valve air gun 300 so that, upon firing the gun, astream of pressurized gas is directed down each of the tubes 321.

As shown in depicted in FIGS. 3D-3G the tubes 321 are splayed apart at apredefined angle (or angles). Splaying the tubes apart aids in openingthe net as it shoots from the quick-release valve air gun 300 (orseparating the bolas 217). The splaying angle 317 is the angle measuredaway from the centerline 319 bisecting the quick release assemblyconnecting the netting head 303 to the quick-release valve air gun 300'sair tank. In one embodiment the splay angle is substantially 15 degrees.Substantially 15 degrees is defined as 15 degrees plus or minus 10percent. In various embodiments the splay angle may be as large as 45degrees or as small as 5 degrees. In some embodiments the top-most tubes(tubes oriented towards the top of the gun) are aimed higher than thebottom-most tubes. For example, the two top-most tubes may be splayedoutward (horizontally) by 15 degrees and upward (vertically) by 20degrees, while the two bottom-most tubes are splayed outward by 15degrees and downward by 15 degrees.

The present inventors discovered that having the tubes all splayed atthe same splaying angle sometimes results in the net opening as it isshot from the quick-release valve air gun 300, and then closing backtowards each other as the net 213 shoots towards its target. Thishappens because the net weights 215 stretch the net out to a fullyopened position, and are then pulled back together by the elasticity ofthe net 215. The present inventors discovered that this problem can beavoided by splaying the different tubes 321 at different splay angles317. For example, one tube 321 may be splayed at 15 degrees while thetube opposite it is splayed by 13.5 degrees. In some embodiments theeach of the splay angles 321 differs from the others while fallingwithin a range of 15 degrees (or some other predetermined angle) plus orminus 10 percent. In other embodiments, two of the splay angles may beequal so long as the tubes having equal splay angles are not locatedopposite each other. In yet other embodiments the tubes 321 oppositeeach other are not located on the same plane—that is, they are skewed.In other words, extending a central line through each of the skewedtubes 321 would not result in the lines intersecting each other. In yetother embodiments there is an odd number of tubes 321 to ensure that thenet weight 215 are not located at points on the net 213 opposite fromeach other. In regards to the embodiments of the netting head 303configured for a bolas 217, the head 303 typically has as the samenumber of tubes as there are bolas weights. In some contexts oflanguage, the term “bolas” implies three weights attached by rope.However, in the present context and in accordance with the variousembodiments disclosed herein the bolas 217 can have as few as twoweights or as many as ten weights.

The netting head 303 of FIG. 3C is configured with tubes inside aconical shaped enclosure. To load netting head 303 the netting 213 ispushed into the cone between the tubes 321. By contrast, netting head305 of FIG. 3C does not have a conical shaped enclosure. Instead,netting head 305 has one or more net holding members 323 positionedbetween the tubes 321. The net holding members 323, in at least oneembodiment, are pieces of angle iron affixed among the tubes 321. Inanother embodiment the net holding members 323 are lengths of strap ironpositioned among the tubes 321. Typically, the net holding members 323do not have sharpened edges. Instead, to avoid tearing the net 213 thenet holding members 323 have rounded smooth edges to allow the netting213 to easily slide off when the quick-release valve air gun is fired.The net holding members 323 of netting head 305 serve the purpose ofholding the netting 213 within the head until the quick-release valveair gun is fired. In some embodiments the net holding members 323 areconfigured with a hollowed out cavity between the tubes 321 toaccommodate nets 213 or ropes 215 or chains 227.

The embodiment depicted in FIG. 3C features a second tank 333, oftencalled a resupply tank, to recharge the primary gas supply tank 307 ofthe quick-release valve air gun 300. The pressurized gas stored inprimary gas supply tank 307 is used in firing the quick-release valveair gun 300. To recharge primary gas supply tank 307 the user activatessupply valve 335, releasing pressurized gas from supply tank (or supplysource) 333. Typically, the supply valve 335 is closed before againfiring the quick-release valve air gun 300 in order to isolate supplytank 333 from primary gas supply tank 307. In some embodiments theresupply tank may actually be smaller sized than the primary tank,albeit filled at a somewhat higher pressure so as to hold more gas. Someembodiments use pressurized CO₂ canisters as the resupply tank. Forexample, resupply tank 330 of FIG. 3C is a small CO₂ canister that fitsinto a canister holding mechanism 332. The bottom portion of canisterholding mechanism 332 unscrews to accept the resupply tank 330 in amanner akin a battery fitting into a flashlight. When the bottom portionis screwed back onto canister holding mechanism 332 a pin puncturesresupply tank 330, releasing its pressurized CO₂ into canister holdingmechanism 332. The canister holding mechanism 332 is configured with asupply valve 335 that can be operated to refill the primary supply tank307. In another embodiment, the resupply tank 334 is a larger,refillable canister with threads on its neck to screw into a supplyvalve assembly 335.

The embodiments of the quick-release valve air gun depicted in FIGS.3A-E are configured with a quick-release mechanism that allows a user toquickly and conveniently change the gun's barrels or netting heads. Thequick release mechanism 301 includes two parts—the barrel portion 325 ofthe netting head and the barrel receptacle 327 of the air gun. As shownin FIG. 3C the netting head 303 is configured with a barrel portion 325of the netting head 303 that slides into the barrel receptacle 327 ofthe quick-release valve air gun. (The netting head 305 is configured ina similar manner.) The barrel portion 325 of the netting head isconfigured with two small cylinder shaped protuberances 329. Theprotuberances 329 fit into L-shaped slots 331 on the barrel receptacle327 as the barrel portion 325 that slides into the barrel receptacle 327of the air gun. In some embodiments the protuberances 329 and L-shapedslots 331 are not located directly across from each other (180 degreesapart). For example, in some embodiments the protuberances 329 arelocated 170 degrees around the barrel portion 325 (rather than 180degrees), with the L-shaped slots 331 positioned in a similar manner onthe barrel receptacle 327 of the air gun. This ensures that the nettingheads 303 and 305 will be mounted in the correct orientation, right sideup. As described in the disclosure below, some embodiments feature thetop-most tubes 321 of the netting heads aimed at a slightly higher anglethan the bottom-most tubes 321, and/or, in some embodiments the top-mostnet weights 215 may be heavier than the bottom-most net weights 215.

In some embodiments the projectile is loaded into the muzzle end of thebarrel. In other embodiments the projectile is loaded into the opposite,breech end of the barrel. In some embodiments the projectiles are loadedone at a time, by hand. In other embodiments the projectiles are loadedusing a loading mechanism.

FIGS. 4A-B depict loading mechanisms according to two embodiment of thequick-release valve air gun. In some embodiments the projectile isloaded into the muzzle end of the barrel. In other embodiments theprojectile is loaded into the opposite, breech end of the barrel, forexample, as depicted in the embodiments of FIGS. 4A-B. In someembodiments the projectiles are loaded one at a time, by hand, aftereach firing of the quick-release valve air gun. In other embodiments theprojectiles are loaded using a loading mechanism activated by firing theprevious shot. Some loading mechanism embodiments are powered by theescaping compressed gas from firing of the projectile. Other embodimentsloading mechanism embodiments are operated by the user, for example,similar to a bolt action rifle. The embodiment 400 shown in FIG. 4A hasa projectile holding part 401 configured to slide up and down in adirection 405. To load the embodiment of FIG. 4A the projectile holdingpart 401 is slid upwards to expose a projectile holding chamber 403,allowing the user to load a projectile into the chamber 403. Theprojectile holding part 401 is then slid back down to align the front ofchamber 403 with the barrel and expose the back of chamber 403 to thegas valve of the quick-release valve air gun. In other embodiments theprojectile holding part 401 is configured to slide side to side in adirection perpendicular to the direction 405 and the barrel. In theembodiment of FIG. 4B the projectile holding part 401 is produced in acylindrical shape (with axis in the up/down direction) and configured totwist so the chamber 403 lines up with a hole 409 in the breech unit toaccept a projectile, and then twist back so the chamber 403 lines upwith the barrel. To minimize the gas leakage when the quick-releasevalve air gun is fired the projectile holding part 401 is configured tofit relatively tightly within the slotted hole as it slides up and downin FIG. 4A or twists in FIG. B, yet with enough clearance to avoidbinding up as projectiles are shifted into firing position within theair gun.

In other embodiments the magazine is not sealed off from the pressure ofthe barrel, instead being configured to maintain an airtight seal withthe barrel. This avoids high pressure gas leaks through the magazine.The airtight magazine, in some embodiments, is connected to the barrelassembly using a quick-release mechanism.

FIG. 5 depicts an embodiment 500 of a gravity feed hopper loadmechanism. Some embodiments of the quick-release valve air gun have aprojectile hopper or magazine that is sealed off from the barrel oncethe projectile is loaded. In this way the hopper or magazine need not beairtight. The embodiment 500 has a feeding mechanism—the gravity feedhopper 501—that is not airtight. The embodiment 500 is designed to loadgolf balls or other projectiles into the air gun's firing chamber 503.Golf balls are loaded into the top of gravity feed hopper 501. The forceof gravity feeds the golf balls downward, with the bottommost golf ballbeing positioned in the firing chamber 503, and then a latchingmechanism seals off the hopper from the firing chamber of thequick-release valve air gun. In the particular implantation shown thelatching mechanism slides the barrel relative to the gravity feed hopper501, moving the barrel towards the user. Upon firing the quick-releasevalve air gun, the latching mechanism is exercised by the user to dropthe next golf ball into place, ready for firing. The holes cut into theside of the gravity feed hopper 501 allows a user to see how many golfballs remain to be fired before reloading is needed. One drawback ofembodiment 500 is that, unless the latching mechanism is tightly sealedto contain the pressurized gas, the firing may tend to cause smallstreams of gas to leak out through the gravity feed hopper 501. Thisissue is solved by the embodiment depicted in FIG. 6A.

FIG. 5B depicts an embodiment of a spring loaded tube magazine andloading mechanism. The embodiment of FIG. 5B is similar to the loadingmechanism depicted in FIG. 4A, except the embodiment of FIG. 5B also hasa spring loaded tube magazine configured to feed projectiles into theprojectile holding part 557, which is similar to projectile holding part401 of FIG. 4B, except 557 slides down instead of up. To load theembodiment of FIG. 5B the projectile holding part 557 is slid downwardwithin the loading chamber 551 to expose a projectile holding chamberwithin projectile holding part 557. This allows the spring loaded tubemagazine 559 to load a projectile into the projectile holding chamber ofthe projectile holding part 557. The projectile holding part 557 is thenslid back upward in direction 555 to align the front of the projectileholding chamber (holding the projectile) with the barrel and expose theback of the projectile holding chamber to the gas valve outlet of theair gun's quick-release gas valve. To minimize the gas leakage when thequick-release valve air gun is fired the projectile holding part 557 isconfigured to fit relatively tightly within the loading chamber 551 asit slides up and down, yet with enough clearance to slide up and downwithout binding up.

FIG. 6A depicts an embodiment of the quick-release valve air gun 600with an airtight magazine 601 for loading projectiles. The projectilesare load into the airtight magazine 601 via a removable magazine cap603. A spring within the airtight magazine 601 pushes the projectiles upinto the firing chamber level with barrel 609. When the quick-releasevalve air gun 600 is fired the projectile is directed out of the barrel609 by a pressurized stream of gas released by valve 607 from theprimary gas supply tank 605. The airtight magazine 601 is temporarilyunder pressure as the projectile travels the length of barrel 609, butdoes not leak any of the pressurized gas since an airtight seal ismaintained.

FIG. 6B depicts an embodiment of the quick-release valve air gun 650with a primary gas supply tank that extends forward around the barrel659. In FIG. 6B the primary gas supply tank 665 is configured ahead ofthe quick release valve 657, rather than behind it as depicted in FIG.6A. The primary gas supply tank is in gaseous communication with aprimary gas reservoir of quick release valve 657 at least at a point 663near the end of a piston 667 which is configured to fit into receptacle671 of the quick release valve 657. The piston 667 is configured toslide back and forth within the receptacle 671 to controllably open andclose the valve 657. Additional details of the operation of the pistonand quick release valve are provided below in conjunction with FIGS.7A-B. The embodiment 650 with the primary gas supply tank 665 positionedahead of quick release valve 657 tends to shift the weight of thequick-release valve air gun forward. In some embodiments a forwardhandle 669 is provided, allowing the user to more easily hold and aimthe quick-release valve air gun. In some embodiments the primary gassupply tank 665 extends both forward and behind quick release valve 657,tending to provide a more evenly weight-balanced air gun.

FIG. 6B depicts the barrel 659 running through the center of the forwardprimary gas supply tank 665. In other configurations the barrel 659 ispositioned towards the top of the primary gas supply tank 665 ratherthan running along its center axis. In yet other embodiments, the barrel659 is outside the primary gas supply tank 665 in a position forward ofthe quick release valve 657. In such embodiments, some implementationsfeature the barrel 659 being connected along at least a portion of itslength to the primary gas supply tank 665. In other implementations, thebarrel 659 and primary gas supply tank 665 are both positioned forwardof the quick release valve 657 but are not connected to each other. Inyet other embodiments the primary gas supply tank 665 is positionedforward of the quick release valve 657 and a second supply tank such assupply tank 333 of FIG. 3C is positioned behind the quick release valve657. In other embodiments the supply tank may be positioned forward ofthe quick release valve 657 with the primary gas supply tank 665 beingpositioned behind valve 657. In some implementations one or the other ofthe primary gas supply tank 665 and the supply tank may extend bothforward and behind quick release valve 657.

FIGS. 7A-B depict the gas valve portion of various embodiments of thequick-release valve air gun. FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional side view ofthe quick release gas valve. The gas valve 700 has a cylindrical body701 with end-caps 711 and 721 attached at either end of the body 701 toform a primary gas reservoir 705. The primary gas reservoir 705 istypically in gaseous communication with a primary gas supply tank, e.g.,the supply tank 107 of FIGS. 1A-B. However, in some embodiments the gasvalve 700 may be integrally formed with the supply tank so that thesupply tank serves as a primary gas reservoir 705. In variousembodiments, the primary gas reservoir 705 may be formed with otherconfigurations of parts and may have other shapes such as spherical,cubic, conical, or other volumetric shapes. The term primary gasreservoir body refers to the body 701, end-caps 711 and 721, and/or anyother parts or surfaces that form the primary gas reservoir for holdingpressurized gas. In the embodiment shown, the end caps 711 and 721 andthe body 701 may be made of steel, aluminum, a polymer such aspoly-vinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, polycarbonate plastic such as Lexan®from SABIC Innovative Plastics, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)plastic, or other like type materials, depending on the targetedoperating pressure, size, shape, weight, cost, or other designparameters of a particular embodiment, as would be known to those ofordinary skill in the art. The end caps 711 and 721 may be attached tothe body 701 using a method appropriate for the material used,including, but not limited to, welding, gluing, screw-threads, bolts,external clamps, or other methods to create a gas-tight seal.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 7A-B an input end cap 711 is configured witha primary gas input opening 710 which may be formed by an input fitting712 with threads 713 to accept gas into the primary gas reservoir 705from an external source that may be connected to the input fitting 712.In various embodiments the input source may be connected to the gasvalve 700 using types of connections other than threads, including forexample, a quick-connect fitting, a sleeve fitting, or other type ofconnection that may be held in place with screw threads, glue or otheradhesive, a bayonet type mount, a quick-connect, welds, friction, or anyother such means that allow a gas-tight, or nearly gas-tight, seal to beformed as the primary gas reservoir is pressurized, as would be known tothose of ordinary skill in the art. The output end cap 721 may have aprimary gas outlet opening 720 formed by an output fitting 722 withthreads 723. The breech end of the air gun barrel, the loadingmechanism, or other output conduit may be connected to the outputfitting 722 using the threads 723 or other types of connection asdescribed above for the input fitting 712.

The valve is designed so that, upon opening the quick release gas valve,the primary gas input opening 710 is in gaseous communication via agaseous path with the primary gas outlet opening 720, allowingpressurized gas to flow through the valve and into the barrel of thequick-release valve air gun to shoot a projectile out the barrel. Thequick release gas valve can be controllably opened to create a gaseouspath from the primary gas reservoir 705 to the barrel of the air gun tofire a projectile from the barrel. After firing, the quick release gasvalve is closed to again charge up the pressure in the primary gasreservoir 705. FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional front view taken from theperspective of looking down the barrel of a quick-release valve air gunback towards the quick release gas valve.

FIG. 7A depicts the gas valve 700 in the closed position. In the figure,the piston 732 is seated against the primary gas outlet 724 to block gasfrom leaving the primary gas reservoir 705 through the primary gasoutlet opening 720. In various embodiments the primary gas outlet may beconfigured as part of the end cap 721 itself, or alternative may be aseparate part configured to form a seal with the piston 732 as itextends from receptacle 730 to the closed position. A gasket, O-ring725, or other type of sealing component may be positioned at the inneredge of the primary gas outlet 724 although other embodiments mayposition an O-ring on the piston 732 instead. Other embodiments may notrequire the use of an O-ring 725, depending on the materials used forthe piston 732 and the primary gas outlet 724 and manufacturingtolerances of the various parts. The piston 732 may be made of anysuitable material including, but not limited to steel, aluminum, PVC,polycarbonate, ABS, and polyacetal polymers such as polyoxymethyleneincluding Delrin® acetal resin from DuPont. In some embodiments theO-ring or other sealing component is mounted on the piston 732 ratherthan the inner edge of the primary gas outlet 724. The O-ring or othersealing component may be made of rubber, polyacetal, nylon, leather, orother like type of materials suitable for creating an airtight seal aswould be known by those of ordinary skill in the art.

The piston 732 is typically shaped to fit into a receptacle 730(sometimes called a piston receptacle 730) with a closed end 731 andslide in a reciprocating motion in the receptacle 730. The piston 732 isconfigured to slide back and forth within the cylindrical receptacle730, with one end of piston 732 (e.g., a chamfered end) extending out ofan open end of the receptacle 730. The piston 732 is configured with achamfered edge on its outer end that slides beyond the edge ofreceptacle 730 to a closed position (or closed state), mating up withand pressing against the O-ring 725 or other type of seal that ispositioned at the inner edge of the primary gas outlet 724. The outerend with the chamfered edge of piston 732 is the end opposite inner endof the piston 732 that holds the compression spring 736A. The spring736A tends to push the piston 732 in a direction towards a closed state.The inner end of piston 732 and inner walls of the cylindricalreceptacle 730 (e.g., the cylindrical inner wall and the inner wall ofend-cap 711) form the control reservoir 735A within the receptacle 730.The inner end of piston 732 remains within the cylinder receptacle 730as the piston 732 slides back and forth between an open state and aclosed state (or position). The piston 732 is acted upon by the force ofthe spring 736A and the control pressure within the control reservoir735A. The control reservoir 735A has a greater volume when the piston732 is seated against the O-ring 725 (or other type of seal) and the gasvalve 700 is the closed state than when the piston 732 slides back intothe piston receptacle 730 and the gas valve 700 is in an open state. Thepressure within the control reservoir 735A is lower when the gas valve700 is the open state than it is when the gas valve 700 is the closedstate. Typically, at least a portion of the piston 732 between the openend of receptacle 730 and the O-ring 725 (or other sealing mechanism) isexposed to the primary gas reservoir 705. In the embodiment depicted inFIGS. 7A-B the primary gas reservoir 705 of valve 700 extends backaround the receptacle 730. In other embodiments the primary gasreservoir 705 of the valve is smaller, covering only the part (or aportion of the part) of the piston 732 that extends beyond thereceptacle 730. Typically, the primary gas reservoir 705 is in gaseouscommunication with a supply tank that holds a supply of pressurized gas.In the various embodiments at least a portion of the piston 732 thatextends beyond the receptacle 730 is in gaseous communication witheither the primary gas reservoir 705 or a supply tank.

The receptacle 730 and piston 732 may be cylindrical in shape with acircular cross-section or in other embodiments may have othercross-sectional shapes such octagonal, square, ellipsoid, or othershapes. The receptacle 730 may be positioned by supports 702A, 702B,702C to allow the piston 732 to slide into position to seal the primarygas outlet 724. The number of supports may vary between embodiments. Thesupports 702A, 702B, 702C may be fixed to both the outer wall of thereceptacle 730 and the inner wall of the body 701 using welding, glue,bolts, or other attachment mechanisms depending on the materials usedand the details of the embodiment. In other embodiments, the supportsmay be fixed to the outer wall of the receptacle 730 and the output endcap 721. A compressed spring 736A may be positioned between the closedend of the receptacle 731 and the piston 732 to provide force to helpkeep the piston 732 seated against the primary gas outlet 724. In someembodiments, the piston 732 may have a cavity 734 for positioning thecompressed spring 736A and providing room for the spring as the piston732 moves toward the closed end 731. In other embodiments there is aprotuberance on the piston 732 that holds the spring 736A in place. Theclosed end of the receptacle 731 may have either a cavity or aprotuberance for holding the spring 736A in place.

The piston 732 may include one or more piston rings 733 that are eitherfitted around the piston 732 or may be an integral part of the piston732 and may be interposed between the piston 732 and the receptacle 730to create a tighter seal than could otherwise be created between thepiston 732 and receptacle 730 alone. In various embodiments it isdesirable for a controlled amount of pressurized gas from the primarygas reservoir 705 to bleed past the piston 732 and piston ring 733 intocontrol reservoir 735A. This tends to equalize the pressure between theprimary gas reservoir 705 and the control reservoir 735A while the gasvalve 700 is in the closed state. It should be noted that the primarygas reservoir 705 pressure and the control reservoir 735A pressure donot necessarily need to be equal for the gas valve 700 to remain in theclosed state. The primary gas reservoir 705 pressure can be somewhathigher than the control reservoir 735A pressure so long as the forceexerted on piston 732 by control reservoir 735A pressure and the spring736A is sufficient to keep piston 732 closed—that is, to keep thechamfered end of piston 732 mated against the O-ring 725 or otherportion of the inner edge of the primary gas outlet 724.

In various embodiments the receptacle 730 has a metering passage 737configured to allow gas to flow between the primary gas reservoir 705and the control reservoir 735A. The metering passage 737 may beconfigured as a groove or other passage in the wall of the receptacle730 running along the piston 732. The metering passage puts the primarygas reservoir 705 in gaseous communication with the control reservoir735A. In these embodiments, after the air gun is shot and the primarygas reservoir 705 is being refilled with pressurized gas, the meteringpassage 737 allows some of the pressurized gas to enter the controlreservoir 735A. The force exerted on piston 732 by the spring 736A andby the pressurized gas bleeding via metering passage 737 into thecontrol reservoir 735A acts to push the chamfered end of piston 732against the O-ring 725 (or other portion of the inner edge of theprimary gas outlet 724), thus closing valve 700. A control conduit 741of valve 700 is configured to release gas from the control reservoir735A under the control of a trigger valve or other valve or switchmechanism. That is, the pathway of the control conduit 741 may becontrollably opened or closed by a trigger valve or other valve orswitch mechanism. In the embodiments depicted in FIGS. 7A-B the controlconduit 741 provides a switchable pathway the outside atmosphere. Inother embodiments the control conduit 741 may provide a switchablepathway to another chamber. Typically, the metering passage 737 has asmaller cross-section than the control conduit 741 and is configured topass less gas. This way, when the release valve 750 is opened to firethe air gun, a much larger volume of gas rushes out of the controlreservoir 735A via the control conduit 741 than the gas rushing throughthe metering passage 737 into the control reservoir 735A behind thepiston 732. This tends to reduce the pressure within control reservoir735A as compared to the primary gas reservoir 705 pressure, thus openingthe valve 700. Typically, the control conduit 741 has a cross-section offrom five to ten times as large as the metering passage 737. The abilityof the control conduit to carry pressurized gas may be referred to asits gas flow capacity, and is dependent upon its cross-section, volume,length, and to a lesser extent, the other parameters characterizing thecontrol conduit 741. Similarly, the ability of the metering passage tocarry pressurized gas may be referred to as its gas flow capacity.Depending upon the configuration and intended usage of the valve 700,the ratio of the control conduit gas flow capacity to the meteringpassage gas flow capacity may be as small as 2-to-1 (i.e., the controlconduit is configured to convey twice as much gas as the meteringpassage) or as large as 100-to-1, or any range or amount within theseamounts. The smaller ratios of control conduit-to-metering passage gasflow capacity (e.g., towards 2-to-1) tend to work better for rapidlyrefilling the primary gas reservoir 705 than the larger ratios (e.g.,towards 100-to-1). The larger ratios tend to make more efficient use ofpressurized gas since less gas rushes into the control reservoir 735Abehind the piston 732 when the air gun is fired. On the other hand, itmay be advantageous in some other embodiments to create a gas-tight sealbetween the receptacle 730 and the piston 732 while still providing forlow friction between the receptacle 730 and the piston 732. In suchembodiments the pressure within the control reservoir 735A is controlledeither via the control conduit 741, or through the use of another gasline leading into the control reservoir 735A. The piston ring 733 may bemade of a material to help minimize the friction and create a good sealsuch as polyacetal, nylon, leather, rubber, or other material dependingon the materials used for the piston 732 and the receptacle 730.

A control reservoir 735A may be created between the closed end 731 ofthe receptacle 730 and the piston 732. The piston 732 and controlreservoir 735A are typically located on the same side of the primary gasoutlet opening 720 as the primary gas reservoir 705. As such, the piston732 may be thought of as holding the valve closed from within theprimary gas reservoir 705, rather than from the outside of reservoir 705(e.g., rather than from outside of primary gas outlet opening 720). Thevolume of the control reservoir 735A depends on the position of thepiston 732 within the receptacle with the largest volume of the controlreservoir 735A occurring if the piston 732 is seated against the primarygas outlet 724 as shown in FIG. 7A. A control conduit 741 maypneumatically couples the control reservoir 735A and a plenum 742 in thecontrol block 740, allowing gas to flow between the control reservoir735A and the plenum chamber 742. In some embodiments the control conduit741 may pneumatically connect the control reservoir 735A with theoutside atmosphere (without a plenum chamber 742), with a valve ortrigger switch in the control conduit 741 line to control flow of gasout of the control reservoir 735A which opens and closes the gas valve700. The gas in the control reservoir 735A may be called control chambergas to distinguish it from the gas in the primary gas reservoir 705. Insome embodiments the primary gas reservoir 705 is used to feed gas intothe control reservoir 735A, which in turn is then called control chambergas. The control conduit 741 may include tubing, pipe, fittings or otherhardware. Gas flowing through the control conduit 741 should not beconsidered as flowing though the primary gas reservoir 705 as thecontrol conduit 741 creates a separation between the gas in the controlconduit 741 and the primary gas reservoir 705. The control conduit 741may exit through the body 701. The exit point may be sealed using arubber seal, gasket, glue, welding or other method so that gas cannotescape from the primary gas reservoir 705 around the control conduit741. The control block 740 may be fabricated differently in variousembodiments but one embodiment may fabricate the control block 740 usinga top section and a bottom section that are then attached using screws,glue, welding or other methods.

A release valve 750 (sometimes called a control valve) is positioned tohave an input pneumatically coupled to the control reservoir 735A viathe plenum 742 and the control conduit 741. The output of the releasevalve 750 may be pneumatically coupled to the exhaust port 759. Therelease valve 750 may be a poppet valve as shown or may be any type ofgas valve in other embodiments including, but not limited to, a ballvalve, a butterfly valve, a diaphragm valve, or other type of valve thatmay be manually, electrically, pneumatically, hydraulically, orotherwise controlled. The release valve 750 may include a valve body 752configured to mate with valve seat 757 to form a gas-tight seal. Spring753A may provide force to keep the valve body 752 seated against thevalve seat 757. A rod 754 (sometimes called a plunger) may connect thevalve body 752 to the release button 755.

The fill valve 760, which may also be called a control gas inlet, allowsgas from an external source to enter the plenum 740 and flow through thecontrol conduit 741 into the control reservoir 735A without firstflowing through the primary gas reservoir. As the control reservoir 735Ais pressurized to a control pressure, the gas in the control reservoir735A provides additional force on the piston 732 to push the piston 732against the primary gas outlet 724. The control reservoir 735A may befilled with gas and pressurized using various methods in variousembodiments, some of which are described below.

The gas reservoir of pressurized gas that is released by the valve is,in practice, typically much larger in volume than control reservoir735A. This may be achieved by connecting primary gas reservoir 705 to asource of pressurized gas via the primary gas input opening 710. Thesource of pressurized gas may be a tank or other reservoir, or apressurized gas line that connects to primary gas reservoir 705 viaprimary gas input opening 710. Gas may enter the primary gas reservoir705 using various methods in accordance with the different embodimentsof the quick-release valve air gun. For example, in some embodiments thegas enters through the primary gas input opening 710 to pressurize theprimary gas reservoir 705 to a primary pressure. If the gas valve is inthe closed state, in many applications the pressure at the primary gasoutput opening 720 will be at standard atmospheric pressure. In someembodiments, however, the pressure at the primary gas output opening 720may be at pressure level other than standard atmospheric pressure. Thecalculations below are based on the pressure at the primary gas outletopening 720 being at the pressure of the surrounding atmosphere if thegas valve 700 is in a closed state. Other pressure levels are measuredwith respect to the pressure of the surrounding atmosphere.

The closing forces operating on the piston 732 include the force of thecompressed spring 736A and/or the force of the gas in the controlreservoir 735A operating on the piston 732 which is equal to the controlpressure times the cross-sectional area of piston 732 at its largestpoint which will be referred to hereinafter as the piston area. In manyembodiments, the piston area may be equal to the cross-sectional area ofthe piston at the piston ring 733. The opening forces on piston includethe force of any pressure at the primary gas outlet opening 720 timesthe cross-sectional area of the of the primary gas outlet opening 720,hereinafter referred to as the outlet area, and the force of the gas inthe primary gas reservoir 705 operating on the piston 732 which is equalto the primary pressure times the difference in the piston area and theoutlet area. The area represented by the difference in the piston areaand the outlet area can be seen as the annular ring 739 in FIG. 7B.

The gas valve 700 may be opened by opening the release valve 750 bypushing on the release button 755 which uses the rod 754 to move thevalve body 752 away from the valve seat 757 which also compresses thespring 753A. Opening the release valve 750 allows the pressurized gas inthe control reservoir 735A to pass through the control conduit 741, theplenum 742, the open release valve 750, and the exhaust port 759. Thistends to cause the control pressure to drop toward the surroundingatmospheric pressure. As the control pressure drops, the closing forceon the piston 732 is reduced. If the control pressure drops to a releasepressure, the opening force on the piston 732 exceeds the closing force,causing the piston 732 to slide and begin to open within the receptacle730. This allows gas to escape through the primary gas outlet 724 whichtends to increase the pressure at the primary gas outlet 724. Thisincreases the opening force on the piston 732 and even though thecontrol reservoir 735A is being made smaller and the compressed spring736A is being further compressed, both of which tend to increase theclosing force on the piston 732. However, the increased opening forceovercomes the closing force and the piston 732 slides rapidly into thereceptacle, quickly opening the gas valve 700. In the inventor'sestimation, many embodiments may switch between a closed state and anopen state in less than 0.10 seconds (s). Some embodiments may open in afew tens of milliseconds (ms) such as 20-50 ms, while other embodimentsmay open even faster and some may open more slowly than 0.10 second.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting of the invention.As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,”“comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including” used in this specificationspecify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations,elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The term “plurality”, asused herein and in the claims, means two or more of a named element. A“plurality” should not be interpreted to necessarily refer to everyinstance of a given element in the entire device. For example, “each” ofa plurality of a given element refers to the members of the “plurality”of the given elements, but there may be others of the given elementaside from the plurality. That is, there may be additional elements inthe entire device that are not be included in the “plurality” and arenot, therefore, referred to by “each.” The term “gaseous communication”means that gas can flow between, and in some instances, through toparts. For example, in various embodiments the primary gas reservoir isin gaseous communication with the air gun barrel, with the quick-releasegas valve being configured in the gaseous path to control the flow ofgas to the barrel. The “backward” and “forward” directions (or “back”and “forth” directions) relative to the quick-release air gun refer tothe direction the projectile shoots from the barrel (forward) and theopposite direction (backward). Typically, the muzzle end of the barrelis the forward end and the breech end is the backward end of the barrel.The terms “airtight” and “gas-tight” are used interchangeably herein.Both the term “airtight” and the term “gas-tight” mean that not morethan a substantially small amount of gas (air or other gas) leaks pastthe airtight or gas-tight. For example, in various embodiments a“airtight” or “gas-tight” seal will maintain either 98% or more of thepressure being held within a chamber, or alternatively will lose 2% orless of the gas being held by the “airtight” or “gas-tight” seal, overthe course of a minute at normal operational pressures. It should benoted that the terms “gas” and “gaseous” refer to materials in theirgaseous state, not their liquid state (e.g., nitrogen, carbon dioxide,oxygen, etc.). The high speed gas valve embodiments disclosed hereinoperate in a different manner than valves designed for liquids. Liquidstend to have much higher viscosities than gases, and thus would notlikely be able to traverse the control conduit and the metering passagewithout drastically redesigning the valve. Moreover, the relativelyhigher viscosity of liquids would not allow the quick-release valve toopen and close properly in response to the interaction between thepressure in the primary gas reservoir, the pressure in the controlreservoir, the control conduit, the metering passage and the compressionspring of the various quick-release valve embodiments disclosed herein.Finally, opening various embodiments of the high speed gas valvedisclosed herein result in the contents of the control reservoir beingsprayed into the atmosphere—a result that, if it was even possible,would be unacceptable in nearly any situation calling for a valve.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description in order to clearly disclose the variousembodiments of the quick-release valve air gun. The description is notintended to be, nor would it be possible to be, completely exhaustive asto all superficial details and minor characteristics of the variousembodiments of the quick-release valve air gun. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and gist of the invention. For example,the various steps of the method claims may, in some instances, beperformed in an order other than the order of the steps recited in theclaims. In some implementations it may happen that some steps may beperformed simultaneously with one or more of the remaining steps of therecited method. In some instances additional steps may be performed inaddition to those recited in the claims. In regards to the accompanyingdrawings, it is not thought that the various steps of the method claimslend themselves to illustration inasmuch as it is believed that theaddition of block diagrams would not aid in further illuminating thevarious method steps recited in the claims to any greater degree thanthe various text descriptions provided in this disclosure. The varioustext descriptions, examples, and embodiments included herein were chosenand described in order to clearly explain the principles of theinvention and the practical application, and to enable those of ordinaryskill in the art to understand the embodiments of the invention withvarious modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A quick-release valve air gun for shooting aprojectile, comprising: a barrel with a muzzle end and a breech end; aprimary gas reservoir of a gas valve configured with a primary gasoutlet in gaseous communication with the breech end of the barrel; apiston receptacle mounted within the primary gas reservoir so as to besurrounded by the primary gas reservoir; a piston with an inner endconfigured to slide into the piston receptacle and with an outer endthat provides the gas valve with an airtight seal in a closed state,wherein a control reservoir having a control pressure is formed withinthe piston receptacle between an inner end of the piston and inner wallsof the piston receptacle; a compressed spring positioned between aclosed end of the piston receptacle and the piston to produce acompression spring force on the piston, a sum of control pressure forcefrom the control pressure and the compression spring force acting topush the piston towards the primary gas outlet, wherein an opening forceacts to push the piston in a direction opposite the compression springforce and the control pressure force, the opening force being equal toan outlet pressure acting on the outlet area of the primary gas outletplus a primary gas pressure within the primary gas reservoir acting onan area equal to the cross-sectional area of the piston less the outletarea; a control conduit in gaseous communication with a trigger means toprovide a controllable pathway for releasing control chamber gas fromthe control reservoir to outside the quick-release valve air gun; andthe trigger means for releasing the control chamber gas from the controlreservoir causing the piston to slide away from the primary gas outletto an open state; wherein the piston sliding away from the primary gasoutlet to the open state releases a sufficient amount of high pressuregas from the primary gas reservoir into the breech end of the barrel todrive the projectile down the barrel out the muzzle end.
 2. Thequick-release valve air gun of claim 1, further comprising: a meteringpassage configured to provide gaseous communication between the primarygas reservoir to the control reservoir; wherein a first gas flowcapacity of the control conduit is at least three times as large as asecond gas flow capacity of the metering passage; and wherein the pistonreceptacle has a cylindrical inner surface and is positioned within theprimary gas reservoir.
 3. The quick-release valve air gun of claim 1,wherein the projectile weighs at least three pounds.
 4. Thequick-release valve air gun of claim 1, wherein the primary gas outlethas an inner edge within the primary gas reservoir, the quick-releasevalve air gun further comprising: a sealing component mounted on theinner edge of the primary gas outlet; wherein the piston has a chamferededge on the outer end configured to mate up with the sealing componentin the closed state of the gas valve.
 5. The quick-release valve air gunof claim 4, wherein the sealing component is an O-ring.
 6. Thequick-release valve air gun of claim 1, wherein the control reservoirhas a greater volume in the closed state of the gas valve than in theopen state of the gas valve.
 7. The quick-release valve air gun of claim6, wherein a control reservoir pressure within the control reservoir islower in the open state of the gas valve than in the closed state of thegas valve.
 8. The quick-release valve air gun of claim 1, wherein, inresponse to manipulating the trigger means the control chamber gas inthe control reservoir escapes to the outside of the quick-release valveair gun causing the piston to quickly slide away from the primary gasoutlet to the open state within 100 milliseconds.
 9. The quick-releasevalve air gun of claim 8, wherein the trigger means is a trigger valvewith a plunger for operating the trigger valve.
 10. The quick-releasevalve air gun of claim 1, wherein the barrel is one of a plurality ofbarrels each in gaseous communication with the primary gas outlet. 11.The quick-release valve air gun of claim 10, wherein the projectile isone of a plurality of projectiles interconnected by a net, each of theplurality of projectiles being configured to fit into one of theplurality of barrels.
 12. The quick-release valve air gun of claim 10,wherein the primary gas reservoir is in gaseous communication with asupply tank, at least part of the supply tank being positioned betweenthe muzzle end of the barrel and the trigger means.
 13. A method ofconfiguring a quick-release valve air gun to shoot a projectile, themethod comprising: providing a barrel with a muzzle end and a breechend; providing a primary gas reservoir of a gas valve, the primary gasreservoir being having primary gas outlet that opens into the breech endof the barrel; mounting a piston receptacle of the gas valve to be ingaseous communication with the primary gas reservoir and to besurrounded by the primary qas reservoir; configuring a piston with aninner end configured to slide into the piston receptacle and with anouter end that provides the gas valve with an airtight seal in a closedstate closing gaseous communication between the primary gas reservoirand the breech end of the barrel, wherein a control reservoir having acontrol pressure is formed within the piston receptacle between an innerend of the piston and inner walls of the piston receptacle; providing acompressed spring between a closed end of the piston receptacle and thepiston to produce a compression spring force on the piston, a sum ofcontrol pressure force from the control pressure and the compressionspring force acting to push the piston towards the primary gas outlet,wherein an opening force acts to push the piston in a direction oppositethe compression spring force and the control pressure force, the openingforce being equal to an outlet pressure acting on the outlet area of theprimary gas outlet plus a primary gas pressure within the primary gasreservoir acting on an area equal to the cross-sectional area of thepiston less the outlet area; providing a control conduit in gaseouscommunication with a trigger means to create a controllable pathway forreleasing control chamber gas from the control reservoir to outside thequick-release valve air gun; and providing the trigger means forreleasing the control chamber gas from the control reservoir causing thepiston to slide away from the primary gas outlet to an open state;wherein the piston sliding away from the primary gas outlet to the openstate releases a sufficient amount of high pressure gas from the primarygas reservoir into the breech end of the barrel to drive the projectiledown the barrel out the muzzle end.
 14. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising: providing a metering passage configured to put the primarygas reservoir in gaseous communication with the control reservoir;wherein a first gas flow capacity of the control conduit is at leastthree times as large as a second gas flow capacity of the meteringpassage; wherein the piston receptacle has a cylindrical inner surfaceand is positioned within the primary gas reservoir; and wherein theprojectile weighs at least three pounds.
 15. The method of claim 13,wherein the primary gas outlet has an inner edge within the primary gasreservoir, the method further comprising: providing a sealing componentmounted on the inner edge of the primary gas outlet; wherein the pistonhas a chamfered edge on the outer end configured to mate up with thesealing component in the closed state of the gas valve.
 16. The methodof claim 15, wherein the sealing component is an o-ring.
 17. The methodof claim 13, wherein the control reservoir has a greater volume in theclosed state of the gas valve than in the open state of the gas valve;and wherein a control reservoir pressure within the control reservoir islower in the open state of the gas valve than in the closed state of thegas valve.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein, in response tomanipulating the trigger means the control chamber gas in the controlreservoir escapes to the outside of the quick-release valve air guncausing the piston to quickly slide away from the primary gas outlet tothe open state within 100 milliseconds.